Submitted 7 April 2015 Accepted 18 May 2015 Published 9 June 2015 Corresponding author Einar B. Thorsteinsson, [email protected], Academic editor Anthony Jorm Additional Information and Declarations can be found on page 12 DOI 10.7717/peerj.1004 Copyright 2015 Gibbons et al. Distributed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 OPEN ACCESS Beliefs and attitudes towards mental illness: an examination of the sex differences in mental health literacy in a community sample Raymond J. Gibbons, Einar B. Thorsteinsson and Natasha M. Loi Department of Psychology, School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences, University of New England, NSW, Australia ABSTRACT Objectives. The current study investigated mental health literacy in an Australian sample to examine sex differences in the identification of and attitudes towards various aspects of mental illness. Method. An online questionnaire was completed by 373 participants (M = 34.87 years). Participants were randomly assigned either a male or female version of a vignette depicting an individual exhibiting the symptoms of one of three types of mental illness (depression, anxiety, or psychosis) and asked to answer questions relating to aspects of mental health literacy. Results. Males exhibited poorer mental health literacy skills compared to females. Males were less likely to correctly identify the type of mental illness, more likely to rate symptoms as less serious, to perceive the individual as having greater personal control over such symptoms, and less likely to endorse the need for treatment for anxiety or psychosis. Conclusion. Generally, the sample was relatively proficient at correctly identifying mental illness but overall males displayed poorer mental health literacy skills than females. Subjects Epidemiology, Psychiatry and Psychology, Public Health Keywords Mental health literacy, Sex, Public belief, Mental illness, Vignette INTRODUCTION Mental illness is a predominant issue in public health, contributing to substantial economic and emotional community burden. It is estimated that up to 45% of the Australian population will experience mental illness at some point during their lifetime (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009). However, not all individuals who experience symptoms of mental illness receive the same level of care or treatment. This is partly attributable to the general public’s beliefs and attitudes surrounding mental illness, often referred to as their mental health literacy (e.g., Jorm et al., 2006). The term mental health literacy was first introduced in a study by Jorm et al. (1997) investigating public beliefs about the causes and risk factors for depression and schizophre- nia. Jorm et al. (1997, p. 143), described a person’s mental health literacy as his or her How to cite this article Gibbons et al. (2015), Beliefs and attitudes towards mental illness: an examination of the sex differences in mental health literacy in a community sample. PeerJ 3:e1004; DOI 10.7717/peerj.1004
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Submitted 7 April 2015Accepted 18 May 2015Published 9 June 2015
Additional Information andDeclarations can be found onpage 12
DOI 10.7717/peerj.1004
Copyright2015 Gibbons et al.
Distributed underCreative Commons CC-BY 4.0
OPEN ACCESS
Beliefs and attitudes towards mentalillness: an examination of the sexdifferences in mental health literacy in acommunity sampleRaymond J. Gibbons, Einar B. Thorsteinsson and Natasha M. Loi
Department of Psychology, School of Behavioural, Cognitive and Social Sciences,University of New England, NSW, Australia
ABSTRACTObjectives. The current study investigated mental health literacy in an Australiansample to examine sex differences in the identification of and attitudes towardsvarious aspects of mental illness.Method. An online questionnaire was completed by 373 participants(M = 34.87 years). Participants were randomly assigned either a male or femaleversion of a vignette depicting an individual exhibiting the symptoms of one ofthree types of mental illness (depression, anxiety, or psychosis) and asked to answerquestions relating to aspects of mental health literacy.Results. Males exhibited poorer mental health literacy skills compared to females.Males were less likely to correctly identify the type of mental illness, more likely torate symptoms as less serious, to perceive the individual as having greater personalcontrol over such symptoms, and less likely to endorse the need for treatment foranxiety or psychosis.Conclusion. Generally, the sample was relatively proficient at correctly identifyingmental illness but overall males displayed poorer mental health literacy skills thanfemales.
Subjects Epidemiology, Psychiatry and Psychology, Public HealthKeywords Mental health literacy, Sex, Public belief, Mental illness, Vignette
INTRODUCTIONMental illness is a predominant issue in public health, contributing to substantial
economic and emotional community burden. It is estimated that up to 45% of the
Australian population will experience mental illness at some point during their lifetime
(Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2009). However, not all individuals who experience
symptoms of mental illness receive the same level of care or treatment. This is partly
attributable to the general public’s beliefs and attitudes surrounding mental illness, often
referred to as their mental health literacy (e.g., Jorm et al., 2006).
The term mental health literacy was first introduced in a study by Jorm et al. (1997)
investigating public beliefs about the causes and risk factors for depression and schizophre-
nia. Jorm et al. (1997, p. 143), described a person’s mental health literacy as his or her
How to cite this article Gibbons et al. (2015), Beliefs and attitudes towards mental illness: an examination of the sex differences inmental health literacy in a community sample. PeerJ 3:e1004; DOI 10.7717/peerj.1004
Table 1 Between Groups ANOVAs for the effects of illness, sex, and protagonist sex on perceivedseriousness, need for treatment, and personal control.
Perceived seriousness Need for treatment Personal control
Measures F Partial η2 F Partial η2 F Partial η2
Illness type (I) 69.74*** .28 49.81*** .22 20.50*** .10
Sex (S) 6.19* .02 18.29*** .05 7.01** .02
Protagonist sex (PS) 4.73* .01 1.04 <.01 0.79 <.01
I × S 2.01 .01 3.11* .02 0.36 <.01
I × PS 0.02 <.01 0.16 <.01 0.30 <.01
S × PS 2.22 .01 0.006 <.01 4.70* .01
I × S × PS 0.76 <.01 0.44 <.01 1.42 .01
Notes.* p < .05.
** p < .01.*** p < .001.
Table 2 Means and standard deviations for condition, sex of participants and protagonist by theperceived seriousness, need for treatment, and personal control.
Measure Perceived seriousness Need for treatment Personal control
Illness
Depression 5.57 (1.04)a 5.13 (1.10)a 3.81 (1.37)a
Anxiety 4.87 (1.18)b 4.67 (1.21)b 4.04 (1.48)a
Psychosis 6.46 (0.75)c 6.09 (0.90)c 2.86 (1.56)b
Participant
Male 5.46 (1.30)a 4.94 (1.26)a 3.87 (1.49)a
Female 5.72 (1.14)b 5.46 (1.19)b 3.43 (1.57)b
Protagonist
Male 5.74 (1.20)a 5.36 (1.21)a 3.56 (1.64)a
Female 5.57 (1.19)b 5.26 (1.25)a 3.55 (1.48)a
Notes.Values within variables in columns that share a subscript are not different by alpha criterion of .05 (Sidak adjusted).
Hypothesis 3 showed that there was only a weak association between correct identification
and protagonist sex, χ2(1,N = 373) = 0.33, p = .056, φ = .03, with 62% of male and 59%
of female protagonist mental illness correctly identified.
The need for treatmentFour three-way between groups ANOVAs, type of illness by sex by protagonist sex, were
conducted for perceived seriousness, need for treatment, and personal control, see Table 1.
The means and standard deviations are reported in Table 2 along with any post hoc analysis
of main effects.
The interaction effect between mental illness and participant sex was significant for
need for treatment, indicating that the effect that participant sex has on the perceived
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